Bubbaworld

Yesterday, Vice President Dick Cheney make a quick stop in Tulsa for a fund raiser in behalf of Senator Jim Inhofe.

The numbers were not very impressive although the traffic congestion in downtown Tulsa was.

Supporters/attendees: 225 or 250 (depending on which report you believe) at $250 each

Private reception/photo op attendees: 70 at $2,000 each

Protesters: About 30 or 50 (depending on which report you believe)

Arrested protesters: 10

The Vice President’s brief speech was pretty much typical campaign fare. It included praise for the administration’s policies in Iraq, praise for Senator Inhofe for supporting those policies and disdain for Democrats and Republicans that oppose administration policies accompanied with a pitch for making tax cuts enacted during President Bush’s first term permanent.

It was the kind of stuff we have come to expect from Dick Cheney over the course of many speeches. With the exception of plugging in “Senator Inhofe” and “Oklahoma”, it’s pretty much a ‘cut-n-paste’ speech given repeatedly on the campaign trail.

Where it got interesting, very interesting, is with Senator Inhofe’s comments to the press before the Vice President’s arrival.

Regarding Republicans trying to distance themselves from Bush administration policies in Iraq, Senator Inhofe said:

I really believe there are a bunch of mushy Republicans who are so fearful of an unfriendly press they dishonor themselves.

As to weapons of mass destructions and why the US invaded Iraq Senator Inhofe said:

The media made that the issue because they knew Saddam Hussein had used weapons of mass destruction. So we knew that they were there. But that was incidental to the fact we were going after terrorist camps.

Evidently Senator Inhofe has not been keeping track of pronouncements from Dick Cheney on the topic of weapons of mass destruction. Otherwise he would have been aware of these:

“Saddam is actively pursuing nuclear weapons at this time.”
– March 24, 2002

“Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass
destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us.”
– August 26, 2002

“We believe Saddam has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.”
– March 16, 2003

Senator Inhofe’s claim that ‘terrorist camps’ existed in Iraq prior to the US invasion and were the justification for going to war in Iraq is interesting if for no other reason than even the Bush administration has not made such a claim. Here again, Senator Inhofe, if he wants to be seen as a Bush supporter, needs to get with the game plan and official administration statements on the justifications for going to war.

Having watched Jim Inhofe’s political career which started as Mayor of Tulsa, progressed to 1st District Congressman and finally U.S. Senator I have come to the conclusion that there is some wisdom in the old saying, “once a buffoon, always a buffoon”.

Oddly enough, some manage to achieve power and wealth through their buffoonery.

Doesn’t say much for the voters of Oklahoma, does it?